NEW YORK (Dispatches) –
Afghanistan has replaced Bahrain as a candidate in elections to the UN’s top human rights body to be held later this month, after critics drew attention to human rights violations in the Persian Gulf kingdom.
A UN website showed that on 26 September Bahrain withdrew its candidacy to run for a three-year seat at the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), without giving details.
The decision to replace Bahrain with Afghanistan came just weeks after a UN expert submitted a report to the UNHRC in which he warned that the Taliban, who returned to power in Afghanistan last year, were clamping down on freedom of expression and denying people their civic and political rights.
A memo circulated among the UNHRC members by the London-based Bahrain Institute for Rights and Democracy (BIRD) drew attention to arbitrary detentions as well as reprisals against individuals.
The human rights group also held a series of meetings with UN officials and diplomats in August to urge states not to support Bahrain.
“It’s a huge relief to see Bahrain withdrawing after our effective advocacy in Geneva against their candidacy,” Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei, advocacy director at BIRD, said.
Last month, an independent human rights organization censured Bahrain over its heavy-handed crackdown against political opponents and pro-democracy campaigners, saying the country has the biggest number of political prisoners among Arab states.
The Bahrain Centre for Human Rights (BCHR) said in a report that Bahrain, under the ruling Al Khalifah dynasty, has the largest number of imprisoned rights activists, and it is estimated that there are some 4,500 campaigners being held behind bars across the country.
Meanwhile, Bahrain’s most prominent Shia cleric repudiated the country’s upcoming parliamentary polls, saying the ruling Al Khalifah regime has shut the door on free elections and political reforms in the tiny Persian Gulf Arab kingdom while trying to enslave the nation.
“The [Manama] regime slams the door in the face of any voter or democracy advocate and seeks to place the yoke of slavery on the nation,” Grand Ayatollah Sheikh Isa Qassim wrote in a post published on his Twitter page on Monday.
“The regime actively directs every Bahraini citizen to the path of slavery and vassalage. Isn’t there anyone who would fear God and sound the alarm on the situation of his homeland and compatriots?” the senior cleric added.
Last month, Bahrain’s main opposition group, the al-Wefaq National Islamic Society, called for a boycott of the upcoming parliamentary elections in the country, amid an escalation of political repression and absence of meaningful reforms.
Demonstrations have been held in Bahrain on a regular basis ever since a popular uprising began in mid-February 2011.
The participants demand that the Al Khalifah regime relinquish power and allow a just system representing all Bahrainis to be established.
Manama, however, has gone to great lengths to clamp down on any sign of dissent.